1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluorescence observation apparatus, and in particular, relates to a fluorescence observation apparatus including a fluorescence observation unit that observes a sample by scanning the sample with a laser light and a fluorescence observation unit that observes a sample by planar-illuminating the sample with light from a light source such as a mercury lamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a fluorescence observation apparatus performs fluorescence observation in which a sample is observed by planar-illuminating the sample and detecting fluorescence by a two-dimensional detector (hereinafter, this type of observation will be referred to as wide field fluorescence observation), and fluorescence observation in which a sample is observed by using a scanning unit and scanning the sample with a laser light (hereinafter, this type of observation will be referred to as laser scanning fluorescence observation).
Apparatuses capable of performing both wide field fluorescence observation and laser scanning fluorescence observation are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-107257 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-090248. The microscope system disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-107257 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-090248 switches and performs wide field fluorescence observation and laser scanning fluorescence observation by inserting a microscope switching mirror into an optical path.
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-107257 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-090248, even if both a unit for performing wide field fluorescence observation (hereinafter, this type of unit will be referred to as a wide field fluorescence observation unit) and a unit for performing laser scanning fluorescence observation (hereinafter, this type of unit will be referred to as a laser scanning fluorescence observation unit) are provided for the conventional fluorescence observation apparatuses, wide field fluorescence observation and laser scanning fluorescence observation are not performed at the same time. These observations are switched and either one is performed.